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Debt Talks in House Stall as Focus Turns to the Senate Debt Talks in House Stall as Focus Turns to the Senate
(35 minutes later)
WASHINGTON — Hope that a resolution to the 12-day-old government shutdown was near gave way to anger and frustration at the Capitol on Saturday as Speaker John A. Boehner told House Republicans that his efforts to reach a compromise with the White House had failed. WASHINGTON — Senate leaders on Saturday opened last-ditch negotiations on reopening the government and raising the debt ceiling as talks between House Republicans and the White House collapsed, dashing hopes for a quick resolution to the political crisis that has paralyzed the government.
The breakdown in the talks left little doubt that any deal to reopen the federal bureaucracy would have to come from the Senate, where Democratic and Republican leaders sat down face to face for the first time since the standoff began. The meeting — which both sides described as a constructive if highly preliminary step toward talks that would continue through the weekend — was an indication of just how urgent the situation has become.   The dead end with the House, coming just five days before the nation reaches its borrowing limit and faces the possibility of a crippling financial default, has left Republicans on Capitol Hill with no easy options.
The dead end with House Republicans comes just five days before the nation reaches its borrowing limit and faces the possibility of a crippling financial default. That has left Mr. Boehner with no easy options. “No deal,” Representative Paul D. Ryan, chairman of the House Budget Committee, said as he left a meeting with fellow Republicans in the Capitol.
He can continue to push back against President Obama and hope for some give in the White House stance that it will not negotiate until the government is reopened and the debt ceiling is raised. Or Mr. Boehner can pursue a more accommodating strategy similar to his Republican colleagues’ approach in the Senate — but at the risk of angering the conservatives who dominate his conference.   There is now little doubt that any deal to reopen the federal bureaucracy would have to come from the Senate, where Harry Reid, the majority leader, and Mitch McConnell, the minority leader, sat down face to face on Saturday morning for the first time since the standoff began. The meeting, which both sides described as a constructive if highly preliminary step toward talks that would continue throughout the weekend, was an indication of just how urgent the situation has become.  
“Each hour that goes by, we’re closer to a calamity for our country,” the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, said Saturday. “I hope that our talking is some solace to the American people and the world,” Mr. Reid said.
Prospects for a potential deal over the weekend now rest with Mr. Reid and Senator Mitch McConnell, the minority leader, who held discussions on Saturday and indicated that they would continue to talk on Sunday. The dialogue puts two veteran Senate dealmakers back in the same room, leading a negotiating process that has so far been marred by mistrust and anger. Mr. Reid was careful not to sound too hopeful but added: “Senator McConnell and I have been in this body a long time. We’ve done things together for a long time together. I know him. He knows me. We don’t agree on everything, and that’s, as you know, an understatement.”
The White House had no immediate response to the developments in the House. Mr. Obama held meetings with senior advisers on Saturday, including Jacob J. Lew, the treasury secretary. Mr. Lew was also attending the annual sessions of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Washington, where officials publicly expressed alarm that the United States might provoke a global debt crisis by the inaction in Congress. He added, “This is what legislating is all about.”
The standoff in the House — which will not return until Monday, three days before the government runs out of money — left many Republicans angry as they left the Capitol. For Speaker John A. Boehner and House Republicans, the options were much grimmer. The speaker, who told his members in an early morning meeting that his efforts to strike a compromise with the White House had failed, can continue to push back against President Obama and hope for some give in the White House’s stance that it will not negotiate until the government is reopened and the debt ceiling is raised. If he were to pursue a more accommodating approach similar to his Republican colleagues in the Senate, he risks angering the conservatives who dominate his conference.  
“It’s now up to the Senate Republicans to stand up,” Representative Raúl R. Labrador of Idaho said after House Republicans left a closed meeting in the Capitol. Those conservatives left their meeting in the Capitol on Saturday in a sour mood, many of them saying they were outraged that Mr. Obama still refused to meet them halfway.
The message from Mr. Boehner had been grim, Republicans said. Representative John Carter of Texas described Mr. Obama as “acting like a royal president.” Representative John Carter of Texas described Mr. Obama as “acting like a royal president.”
“He’s still ‘my way or the highway,’ ” Mr. Carter said. “He’s still my way or the highway,” Mr.  Carter said.
With House Republicans insisting that they have all but run out of options, attention turned to the Senate, where Republicans have spent the past several days trying to gin up Democratic support for a proposal they hope could reopen the government and extend the debt ceiling through the end of January. With concern growing that global financial markets could be thrown into turmoil if Congress does not agree to raise the debt ceiling, Republicans said they did not know whether Mr. Boehner would have enough support from his most conservative members to put a Senate plan up for a vote — if Senate leaders ever reach a deal.
“The question is: What will Senate Republicans do, what will Senate Democrats do?” said Representative Adam Kinzinger, Republican of Illinois.“The question is: What will Senate Republicans do, what will Senate Democrats do?” said Representative Adam Kinzinger, Republican of Illinois.
Many Republicans said that however frustrated they were that the White House would not negotiate with them, they were just as dismayed with their own colleagues who would not back down from their demand that any deal include provisions to chip away at the health care law. Many Republicans said that however frustrated they were that the White House would not negotiate with them, they were just as dismayed with many of their own House colleagues, who would not back down from their demands that any deal include provisions to chip away at the health care law.
“The problem here is that we don’t have a functioning majority,” said Representative Devin Nunes of California. “After three weeks of this, they’re still not figuring it out. I don’t know what it takes.” “The problem here is that we don’t have a functioning majority,” said Representative Devin Nunes, a California Republican. “After three weeks of this, they’re still not figuring it out. I don’t know what it takes.”
The proposal House Republican presented to the White House late last week called for increasing the Treasury Department’s authority to borrow money through Nov. 22, but only if Mr. Obama agreed to more expansive talks about overhauling the budget.
The breakdown in talks with the White House going into the weekend further strained an already tense relationship between House Republicans and the president.  Representative Aaron Schock, Republican of Illinois, called the development “a total breakdown in trust.”
“You don’t tell the speaker, the majority leader, the majority whip,  ‘We’re going to negotiate.’ Then they come and tell our entire conference, ‘We’re going to negotiate,’ ” he said. “And then 24-hours later, you recant.”
Feelings ran so high on the House floor on Saturday morning that there was a brief altercation between Representative Joseph Crowley, a Democrat from New York City, and the floor director for Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia, the majority leader. There were conflicting reports about whether the conflict became physical — or was confined to words — and Mr. Crowley said the Cantor aide later apologized to him.Feelings ran so high on the House floor on Saturday morning that there was a brief altercation between Representative Joseph Crowley, a Democrat from New York City, and the floor director for Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia, the majority leader. There were conflicting reports about whether the conflict became physical — or was confined to words — and Mr. Crowley said the Cantor aide later apologized to him.
Adding to the tensions, the radio and television personality Glenn Beck and Senator Mike Lee, Republican of Utah, a Tea Party star, were joined by conservative activists outside the Capitol to keep the focus on the government shutdown and to blame Mr. Obama for it. If Republicans needed any reminder about how outraged their most conservative supporters would be if they committed to a compromise that did not include provisions to weaken the president’s health care law, they needed look no further than out the window. Glenn Beck, the fiery radio personality, was leading a group of Tea Party activists on the National Mall.
Though House Republicans — especially the more hard-line conservatives — remain reluctant to accept any proposal from the Democratic-controlled Senate, even if it has substantial Republican backing, the question now facing Mr. Boehner is whether he will be forced to send any Senate offering to the House floor for a vote. As the House met to vote on yet another proposal that would go nowhere in the Senate, Mr. Reid called a vote on to begin debate on a Democratic proposal that would extend the debt ceiling through the end of 2014, with no strings attached. No Senate Republicans voted yes, and the measure failed to reach the 60-vote threshold it needed.
With concern growing that global financial markets could be thrown into turmoil if Congress does not agree to raise the debt ceiling by Thursday, Republicans said they did not know whether Mr. Boehner would have enough support from his most conservative members to put a plan that would pass in the Senate. Mr. Reid’s aides indicated that he would to keep pressure on Republicans as the debt ceiling deadline neared.
The proposal House Republicans presented to the White House late last week called for increasing the Treasury Department’s authority to borrow money through Nov. 22, but only if Mr. Obama agreed to more expansive talks about overhauling the budget. The White House called the Senate Republicans’ action irresponsible. “This bill would have taken the threat of default off the table, and given our nation’s businesses and the economy the certainty we need,” said Jay Carney, the White House press secretary. “With five days until the government runs out of borrowing authority, Congress needs to move forward with a solution.”
The collapse of talks with the White House further soured an already tense relationship between House Republicans and the president. Representative Aaron Schock, Republican of Illinois, called the development “a total breakdown in trust.” Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, said of the Republican rejection of the debt-limit bill, “This is playing with fire.”
“You don’t tell the speaker, the majority leader, the majority whip, ‘We’re going to negotiate,’ then they come and tell our entire conference, ‘We’re going to negotiate,’ and then 24 hours later, you recant,” he said. House Republicans remained skeptical that any Senate compromise plan could pass muster in the Republican-controlled House. Representative Thomas Massie, Republican of Kentucky, said simply: “Senate Republicans don’t run the Senate,” Mr. Massie said. “ So we’re not taking our lead from them.”
The Senate was expected to open debate on Saturday on a Democratic proposal that would extend the debt ceiling through the end of 2014, with no strings attached. The plan appeared to lack enough Republican votes to pass, but was intended to pressure Republicans to take action to avert what could be a staggering fiscal crisis if the government were to default on its debts. And despite encouraging signs from the dialogue between Mr. McConnell and Mr. Reid, senators from both parties said they were being realistic. “Let’s be honest where we are,” said Senator Richard Durbin of Illinios, the No. 2 Senate Democrat.
Senators Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, and Joe Manchin III, Democrat of West Virginia, were also working to nail down the details of their own plan, which would extend the debt ceiling through the end of January and include a stopgap spending measure to reopen the government and finance it through the end of March. In his weekly address, Mr. Obama called the efforts of House Republicans to end the standoff “a positive development,” adding that “there is no good reason anyone should keep suffering through this shutdown.”
“I hope that at least it will spark conversation and help bring an end to this impasse,” Ms. Collins said. “This is going to be a good deal for the country if we can get it done.” “Once the debt ceiling is raised, and the shutdown is over, there’s a lot we can accomplish together,” Mr. Obama said.
The 23-page plan would simultaneously call for an immediate bipartisan conference of members of the House and the Senate to address broader budget concerns. Republicans hoped the conference would consider some of the cuts to social programs — like means-testing for Medicare benefits — that Mr. Obama has suggested could be options. In the Republican response, Representative Howard P. McKeon, the California Republican who is chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said the meeting at the White House had been positive. Mr. McKeon said the two parties had agreed on some funding programs during the shutdown, and he urged Democrats to sit down with Republicans and reach a compromise.
The plan would also call for a delay, or at least an easing, of a tax on medical devices unpopular with some Democrats, and would give government agencies more flexibility on how to carry out the existing across-the-board spending cuts known as sequestration.
When Ms. Collins presented a similar proposal to the president during a meeting on Friday, Mr. Obama called it “constructive.”
But some House Republicans remained skeptical that any Senate plan could pass muster in the Republican-controlled House. Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky said that the Republican conference remained “very united” and that it was unlikely to cede any ground as long as Mr. Obama continued to treat the standoff as “still a game.”
Mr. Reid, however, warned that time was running out. “Each hour that goes by we’re closer to a calamity for our country,” he said.